A composite camera is generally capable of capturing images or videos by integrating images captured by multiple digital imaging devices. A digital imaging device includes at least an imager and a lens. The imager typically includes electronic components for converting images captured through the lens into digital images. Different sizes and types of imagers and lenses may be purchased from different manufacturers and need not be described in more detail herein.
Composite cameras are generally rare, and exist primarily in research environments. Their purpose is to provide, through multiplicity, capabilities difficult or impossible to attain in a single optical camera, for example extreme wide angled capture or varied resolution over the field of view. They are built through a process that typically requires intensive manual modeling (i.e., manual assembly and adjustments of each digital imaging device). The configuration of a manually assembled composite camera is a function of the desired characteristics (e.g., focal length, imager shape, intended coverage pattern, etc.) of its digital imaging devices. Composite cameras are generally time-consuming to produce, designed and built individually, and virtually un-reproducible.
Thus, there is growing demand for an automated process to design and construct composite cameras comprising multiple digital imaging devices arranged and configured to meet specific requirements.